American emotions

There used to be a time when entering into one American shop was annoying me. Because at the entrance of a shop there should be someone who’s smiling and asking how are you. Of course he/she doesn’t care about this, but is part of the job description. (I’m curious what those persons are filling in their CV about this experience: being a double bagger for _ ?) When you leave is the same ‘Bye, have a nice evening!’ Now I’m not annoyed anymore and I say back ‘Thanks. You too have a nice evening’. Because… how much a smile worth? A lot… I prefer this attitude to the ‘you cannot afford this, why are you bothering me?’ which I usually meet in some Romanian stores.

Americans say ‘I love you’. While waiting for some planes in airport, I had the chance to hear some phone conversations (I realized is personal, but when the person is near you, you can’t stop from hearing). The usual ending is ‘I love you. Take care! Bye!’ How many times did you say to your parents this? Me… few fingers are enough for counting. Why is that? I would like to say to them that I love them and I would love to hear it back. Not just for the family, but for my friends also. I guess we need to be strong and not emotional… But I don’t understand why… I’m sure you all can remember at least one scene from American movies when if one of the parents died, the sun/daughter is worried when he/she said last time ‘I love you’ to his/her parent. How many times did you see that in a Romanian scenario?

I was almost witness to a moment when a guy proposed to her girlfriend, in Rockefeller Center, Ne w York, a very crowded place. The people around join the moment and enjoyed with them. He wanted to say to the whole world that he loves her. And he didn’t need any actor to stage this moment for him (I won’t give names, but … I’m sure you all know that I’m thinking of someone’s caravan). And the people join the moment because they shared their happiness and not because they want to be on TV.

Again in airport, something filled my soul with emotions. I and Lucian (with whom I was to New York to his cousin) didn’t fly with the same airline. We bought the tickets at very close time, but because of some delay I needed to wait for him in NY’s airport for a while. There were some other people waiting. Parents were waiting their children, some young people were waiting theirs friends, husbands were waiting their half and one child with his father was waiting for the mother. The little child was keeping some flowers as big as him for his mother. He handed them to her and hardly made few steps. There are no words for the moment…

I don’t know if this was an ordinary hour in La Guardia airport, or it was all just because it was Thanksgiving. But that child waiting for his mother, seeing so many people hugging , hearing so many ‘I love you’…... is a full emotional picture that reminds me of NY/America.

I’m not attributing this moment to any nation. I’m taking people for what they are, and not for which nation are coming from. Still, I think that every country has some rules that you start feeling while living there…

Thanksgiving

This year I got the chance of spending the Thanksgiving in USA, and not just in any place but New York. It is a really big and nice city. I was walking around and recognizing places I’ve seen only in movies: like Central Park, Rockefeller Center, Empire State building, east Village (where I was looking for my ‘Friends’ to say hi :) ), Lincoln Center, Queens, Manhattan… Some time ago I was not even dreaming of this. But now is happening. Some pictures available here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/validineata/sets/72157603289763259/

What is Thanksgiving? Well… I was used to think of this holiday like another opportunity for Americans to eat and to shop. The family is gathering to eat the turkey and the next day (“Black Friday”) they are enjoying all the sales. Which are something that you cannot ignore. But if you are visiting New York and you have just 2 and half days to do that, shopping is on the bottom of the list then.

Beginning with this year I start thinking of Thanksgiving like an opportunity to summarize my year. I took a break from feelings I used to have during the year: being angry, being sad, pretending to be happy, being happy, being scared, being stressed, missing someone… and I felt a new and a great feeling: being thankful for all good and bad things that happened this year. The good ones made me happy and from the bad ones I learnt to be stronger.

This is why…
- I’m thankful for having the greatest friends. (What makes them so great is the fact that they are my friends even if they know me :) ).
- I’m thankful for travelling so much this year. This year I saw the USA for the first time. Chicago was love at first sight. Now I discovered that New York is great too. This was not my first visit there, but this was the one that made me feel I love this city too. Is a big difference to visit a city by taxi or by walking around and feeling his spirit. This year I visited Amsterdam (and met old and good friends there) and also England with his great London, old castles, York, Wolverhampton (where I met another good and old friend).
- I’m thankful I’m healthy.
- I’m thankful that I still can dream.
- I’m thankful that my brother got married with a great person who loves him and which he loves.
- I’m thankful that my parents are getting old in a nice way.
- I’m thankful that my credit card is locked and now I spend only if I really need something :)
- I’m thankful for having a good job that allows me to travel and to help my family.
- I’m thankful for having you in my life.